Upon A Midnight Clear
by Morgen86
Summary: Meredith. Derek. Christmas trees. It's pointless, and seasonal, and just because we love them. A MerDer doubleshot.
1. Meredith

_So, surprisingly, I felt all like Christmas this morning. I'm completely scandalized with myself over this. Blame it on that Sixpence None the Richer song because, well, it is awesome. It gave me the title for this after all. (To make me super happy, listen to it while you read. Because well, I'm a coordination nerd like that.) So yes, I needed a break from the angst and sorrow of The World Turned Over. Consequently, I'm writing this. It's set very much in our current season three, or at least the December of season three if Shonda hadn't suddenly gone all crazy with the calendar and cut out our Christmas. _

_So yes, this is Mer/Der about where they currently are in their relationship on the show. Just, at Christmas. It's going to be a double-shot of a story, with the first part in Meredith's POV. Originally, it was just going to be her, but I got to thinking…you can't have Mer without Der. It's like peanut butter without jelly, cookies without milk…you get the point. (You may also now realize that I have serious problems with my Mer/Der love.) Anyway, I wanted to write both their perspectives, so…I will. _

_So yes, here we go. Feel free to laugh at my attempt to write something that isn't covered in angst and tears._

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I don't do Christmas. You know the present-wrapping, eggnog-drinking, ornament-hanging thing. That day were the whole world is supposedly framed in picture perfect white snow and wrapped up with a giant bow. _Christmas_. We just don't mix so well, Christmas and I. I mean, last year I let Izzie go ahead and turn my mother's house into this gingerbread freak show because, lets face it, she was sad. And I was (arguably) even sadder, so it's not like I paid much attention to the lights anyway. Or the mistletoe. Or the little Santa figurines she'd set up everywhere. Besides, the lights actually were kind of pretty. I think I can admit that without risking excommunication by Cristina…so long as I don't say it too loudly. So yeah, my point is, I survived last Christmas. Somehow. But this year, Izzie's at it again.

Only this time, she has help.

…In the form of my boyfriend. Seriously. My. Boyfriend. I _know. _The world hates me.

Or Derek hates me, and this is his weird twisted way of driving me insane. I think that's likely because it's late at night, and I was at work all day. My legs are tired and my feet hurt, and seriously…I just want to flop down on my bed right now. There's just one problem. I'm miles away from my bed, or any sort of bed really, trudging through this forest. (Not walking, or even hiking, but trudging. Because seriously, I'm kinda small and this snow is deep. I've already tripped twice. I think that qualifies as trudging.)

"Derek," I moan, hurrying forward to where he's been waiting. He just turns around and grins at me. His hair is jutting out wildly from beneath his hat, and if he didn't look so cute and so ridiculously happy, I'd insist we turn around right now. But he does, because he's Derek, and that's always been my downfall. No need to go over how that works again. So I simply make a face, and walk (trudge) over to him, slipping my gloved hand in his.

"What do you think of this one?" he asks, looking up at yet another evergreen tree.

"Nice…" I mumble, already tucking my face into the warm spot between his scarf and his neck. So what if I can't see the tree this way? It's dark out already, and seriously, they're all Christmas trees. I don't think there's that much of a difference.

"Mer," he coaxes, his voice low and insistent as he rocks me back and forth in his arms. "I don't want to get one you don't like." He leans down, kissing my forehead just below the brim of my hat. Reluctantly I look up, my lips briefly meeting his before I turn to study the tree.

"Derek!" I gasp, shaking my head in disbelief. "The tree is huge." And it is. It's towering over us in this completely menacing way, and I have no idea how we would even get it home, let alone into my house.

Derek's grin just widens. "I know," he agrees, sounding for all the world like an excited little boy at…Christmas, I guess. I whirl back around to glare at him, placing my hands on either side of his face, turning his attention back to me and away from the monster tree.

"Derek, we can't get that tree," I say, sounding perfectly reasonable.

And then he pouts at me.

He actually sticks his lower lip out and _pouts_ at me. See, this is what I meant about Christmas. Not only do I have Izzie at home turning my perfectly nice kitchen into some sort of cookie-frosting assembly line, but now I have my boyfriend pouting at me because of a tree that is easily twice his height. And when he pouts at me like that, I usually end up kissing him. And ninety-nine percent of the time, when I start kissing Derek, we end up having sex. Now, while I admit that I may sleep with Derek in some…strange places, I am not about to have sex in the middle of a freezing Christmas tree forest that happens to be run by rather creepy, old, bearded men in giant flannel coats. So yes, not kissing Derek. I am completely ignoring the way he's looking at me. In fact, I'm not even affected by it. Seriously.

"Meredith," he murmurs, turning my name into this low running sound. "Please?" He tilts his head to the side, his mouth just an inch away from mine. I slowly start to lean forward, lips parted, before I happen to catch another glance of the monster tree over his shoulder.

That stops me just in time. "You want to put a hole through my mother's house?" I blurt out, managing to sound scandalized enough that Derek draws back slightly.

"No…" His voice is guilty and a little bit defensive. "I'm not going to put a hole in the house." I just raise an eyebrow at him, the skeptical expression almost lost beneath the white brim of my hat. "Besides, the ceiling in the hall by the staircase is high. There'd be plenty of room there."

"Derek…" I pull away from him, folding my arms over my chest, but he keeps his hands firmly looped against the small of my back. "What about getting that little one over there?" I gesture towards the tiniest tree in sight.

"Izzie would kill us. We promised her we'd get the tree two weeks ago, and now it's already Christmas Eve. If we bring home a crippled midget tree…" He trails off, shrugging his shoulders, but with this ridiculously smug grin on his face. That reminds me, I hate it when he knows he's right.

"She wouldn't mind," I say weakly, but I know she would. The tree is scrawny, and its highest branches barely make it to my shoulders. She would freak out, and possibly begin telling me about the meaning of Christmas again. Of course, making sure to highlight just how the sad little tree would be failing the meaning of Christmas… I sigh and try again. "We could always get a fake tree. There are hundreds in every drugstore between here and my house."

"Meredith Grey," says Derek, sounding absolutely shocked. "You are a strange, strange woman. You can't have a fake tree."

"Okay…well, what about one of those really nice ones in the lobby at work. They're already decorated," I say, shooting him my most helpful smile. "And, you're head of neurosurgery. I don't think anyone will stop you."

Derek just laughs. It's this wonderful deep sound from low in his throat, and I find myself shivering in a way that has absolutely nothing to do with the cold. "So now you want me to commit tree robbery," he says, shaking his head at me.

"No. Well…yes. Maybe. A little. If you want to?" I look up through my eyelashes at him hopefully. Derek's still laughing at me, this little smirk playing around the corners of his mouth, so I back him up until he's leaning against the trunk of the monster tree. "For me?" I ask, standing on tiptoes to pull on the edge of his lip with my teeth as I press my hips hard against him. His response is instantaneous, and just what I'd been expecting, because I'm immediately pulled even closer to him. Somehow he forces my mouth open with his, spinning us around so that I'm the one pressed against the tree. I just moan into him, quickly growing frustrated by all the layers of clothing between us.

When Derek finally pulls away, I'm gasping slightly and curled against his chest. He just grins down at me, kissing the tip of my nose. "I will commit as many tree robberies as you want," he murmurs softly, his voice turning into this low hum as his lips somehow make it past my scarf to find my neck. "Whatever you want Mer…" I'm just shivering (again, in the good way) and staring up into the branches of the monster tree. It's hard to think straight when you have this amazing combination of teeth and tongue grazing up the side of your neck, but I'm thinking that this tree actually smells pretty good. Kinda piney and wonderful… And well, it _is_ very green with this dusting of snow and tiny little icicles hanging from the branches. It's beautiful…seriously. And I'm not just saying that because Derek's already made my knees give in.

"Derek," I whisper as he hoists me up, my legs wrapping around his waist as I reach down to tilt his face towards mine. I kiss him again, our mouths melting together as everything else just sort of gets lost beneath the scent of the tree, and the feel of it against my back, and the overwhelming warmth of our bodies linked close together. And I can't help but think that if this is what Christmas is, I might be a fan.

When we pull apart this time, we're both gasping and simply staring into each others' eyes. It's all sort of hazy and wonderful, and seriously, this is the part were I'd go on and on about how I love Derek Shepherd if…you know…I could speak coherently or anything. "See, this is the problem," I murmur once I remember how to string a sentence together.

"What's the problem?" he asks, a slight frown appearing on his face.

"Now I want sex," I say, doing my best to glare at him crossly.

Derek just smirks at me, looking very amused (and rather pleased with himself too). "Doctor Grey," he replies, his eyes laughing at me. "_That_ is never a problem."

"Yes it is." Derek just shakes his head, not looking even slightly convinced by the idea that sex could ever be a problem, and so I move to elaborate. "Derek, we're Christmas tree shopping. In a forest. In a forest that happens to be freezing, and run by some very scary old men."

He laughs. "They won't mind. They're harmless old men."

"No…they have axes," I hiss in a low voice. "And chainsaws."

"For cutting down the trees Mer."

"Or for attacking the people who try and have sex against the trees."

"Meredith…" Derek shakes his head, still grinning at me as if he thinks I might be a little bit crazy.

I lean down and kiss him once more, soft and quick, before hopping out of his arms and down to the ground. "Derek," I answer lightly, already walking back across the snow.

"Wait…you bring up sex and then you just walk away?" asks Derek as he hurries after me. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," I agree. "You know, it's your fault. If we were at home, with a nice fake tree, that conversation would've ended very differently."

"Fake tree," echoes Derek dejectedly. He pulls me into his arms again so that the back of my head is resting against his shoulder. "But Meredith, it's Christmas." He spins us around until I'm staring up at that monster tree again. Only this time, I'm not thinking about how impossibly large the monster tree is. I don't know if it's because Derek's voice is so earnest, or if it's because the moon has finally come out from behind the clouds to bathe the whole tree in pale white light, or if it's the hundreds of baby icicles that are making me imagine just how magical the tree would look once Izzie's done decorating it…I don't know exactly. All I know is that not only did I just used the word magical in conjunction with Christmas (which would be scary enough on it's own), but I'm also thinking that I really love that tree. I mean really love it in that overwhelming, excited, how could we even possibly consider getting a different tree sort of way. Something is clearly wrong with me. "Mer?" repeats Derek softly after I've stood there silently for a rather long time. It's the tree's fault. Blame the magical monster tree for leaving me speechless. "If you really want to go, we don't have to get a tree. We can…"

"No," I cut him off, shaking my head emphatically. "I want that tree." I point my gloved hand straight at our tree, and I swear I can hear Derek smile.

"Seriously?" he asks. "You're not just saying that?"

"Seriously," I agree, turning around in his arms and smiling up at him. "I'm not just saying that." He frowns, still looking slightly unconvinced. "It's Christmas Derek," I say, rising up on my toes and pressing my lips against his as I speak.

"It's Christmas," he agrees.

We stand there in the snow, just staring at each other for a long time. The trees are looming like giants overhead, and we're doing that thing were we somehow have a thousand things to say, but manage to say them all with just our eyes. And suddenly it really is Christmas, it's not just this thing you say. And my boyfriend isn't just this holiday-obsessed tree hunter.

He's the man who can read me completely through my eyes alone.

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_Alrighty…that was the end of part one. I actually had a lot of fun writing that. I feel appropriately seasonal now. Anyway yes, part two is left to come. It's just going to be Derek's perspective on the whole crazy tree thing the two of them are doing. It should be up in a few days or so. Whenever I write it… Obviously before Christmas. Otherwise yeah, I do see how it would be kinda pointless. _

_So yes, that was my take on fluffy Mer/Der Christmas through Mer's eyes. Please review!_


	2. Derek

_ Alright, here's the second half of my Christmas piece. I'm very glad to hear that people have been enjoying it so far! Anyway, this section is told through Derek's perspective. It picks up in the storyline just after where Meredith left off, so they're still out in the cold getting their tree. And hmmm...I don't seem to have much else to say. It's just fun and happy, so...yep. Moving on to the story now.  
_

_-----_

Meredith likes to point out that she's Anti-Christmas. Very Anti-Christmas, she says. _Seriously _Anti-Christmas. She's fond of standing up on her tiptoes and whispering it in my ear whenever we walk past a house with a few too many strands of lights strung up, or when we stop at the grocery store to get more beer or ice cream or pizza, or whatever it is she's suddenly decided we need more of, only to find ourselves barraged by the blaring sounds of Frosty the Snowman. She just sort of smirks at me, and licks her lips, and points out how much she positively hates the whole holiday season. She blames it on the depressing influx of happy people. (Apparently I'm one of them, but she's decided to forgive me for that.) I can't help it though. I was miserable last December 25th, but that's got very little to do with the actual day, and pretty much everything to do with Meredith.

Christmas without Meredith was this dark meager thing full of too much time spent imaging what Christmas with her would be like. Turns out, Christmas with her is a lot louder than I'd imagined. (A few months away from her house makes you forget just how full and noisy everything with her roommates is.) It's also full of a surprising amount of incredulous, my-boyfriend-is-a-crazy-man looks courtesy of Meredith whenever I suggest something like wrapping presents or putting up lights. But at the same time, Christmas with her is far better than I ever could have imagined because it's full of moments like this one now. Actually, I have no idea how I convinced her to come get a Christmas tree with me. But still…she came. And now, Meredith is just staring at me, her green eyes bright beneath the white of her hat, and her hands burying their way deep into my pockets.

"I'm freezing Derek," she murmurs, wrinkling her nose at me. I don't really want to leave the dark green canopy of the forest, but I can see the shadows of our breath lingering in the air. They're these pale wisps of fog that hang like ghosts, prompting me to nod my head, and pull Meredith closer to warm her.

"Then we should probably go get one of the chainsaw wielding madmen to chop down our tree," I reply.

Meredith instantly raises an eyebrow. "Oh very funny," she says in a low voice. "Those were big saws."

"Yeah well, we have a big tree."

"A monster tree," she corrects, shaking her head at me. But a moment later, she's taking my hand and leading us back the way we came. "Fine" she mutters over the sound of our boots crunching in the snow. "We'll risk an encounter with the madmen." However, she pauses after a few steps, and glances up over her shoulder at me. "Just, after that, no more trudging," she adds, her eyes darkening seriously.

"Trudging?"

"Yeah." She gestures down at the snow, stumbling slightly towards me as she speaks. "All this trudging. It's exhausting." She takes another heavy exaggerated step, and I realize just how deep the snow is for her.

"Mer…you should've said something sooner," I say, smiling at the sight of her sinking almost knee-deep in a snow bank. Before she can protest, I'm leaning forward and scooping her up onto my back.

"Derek!" The sound of her voice is combined shock and laughter, but after a moment, she complies and hooks her legs around my waist. She's this insignificant weight that I could easily forget I was even carrying were it not for the sight of her snow-encrusted boots dangling in front of me and the arms she wraps tightly around my neck. Meredith leans forward, her lips pressing soft and warm against my cheek as she tilts her head down to rest on my shoulder. She sighs a happy little sigh, murmuring, "It _is _a pretty tree."

"Yeah," I agree. We fall as silent as the forest, and I just carry her towards where the trees grow thinner. The old slightly misshapen trailer that serves as the headquarters for tree purchasing looms into view, its silver body glimmering in the moonlight. Eventually, the long snowy hike is finished, and Meredith slips down from my arms, leaving me free to deal with the actual business of getting the men to cut down our tree. Two of them head off into the forest, axes and saws in tow, and I turn around to find Meredith.

And my jaw literally drops.

You'd think after a few weeks or months or whatever you'd get used to what you're girlfriend looks like, and wouldn't find yourself gaping like a fool every time you turn around because wow…isn't she beautiful. You'd think that, but…apparently I'm still a fool. Because once again I'm simply staring at Mer, unable to think of anything save how beautiful she is. She's laying spread eagle in the snow; her face upturned towards the stars. Somehow her hat has fallen off, and her hair is spilling in golden waves against the pure white. I walk towards her and she looks up at me, her eyes shinning as she stretches out a hand, tugging on the leg of my jeans.

"What are you doing?" I ask, wondering why my girlfriend, who _never_ thinks a room is warm enough, has decided to lay down in snow.

"Making snow angels," she says. Her words slur together just slightly, similar to the way she gets when she's spent a night at Joe's…happy, mischievous, and a little bit pushy. And I'm starting to think she smuggled some tequila out of the tree trailer, because the next thing she does is reach up for my hand, yanking me down onto the ground next to her. "Make a snow angel Derek," she orders, rolling over me and onto the pure expanse of snow to my right.

"A snow angel?" I ask. "What?"

"Yes Derek," she says slowly, giggling in a way that is very unlike Meredith. "Make an angel in the snow. Are you telling me Mr. Christmas doesn't know how? Seriously?" I can hear the laughter in her voice, and, as I turn towards her, I see it in the depths of her eyes as well.

"I know what a snow angel is," I counter, filling my voice with mock-hurt that has her smirking and rolling over again to kiss me. "I just don't know why you want to make them," I continue, once she has settled back into yet another unmarked patch of snow. "They're Christmassy Mer."

"I know," she says, and there is a quiet edge to her voice that keeps me from teasing her further. Meredith sighs and swings her arms up in a long arc, the motion tracing wings into the snow. She doesn't speak for a long time, until the angel is completed and she's stood up to inspect it. But then she flops back down onto the ground, her snow flecked hair spilling over me as she curls up against my chest. "I used to love making them," she says in a hushed voice. "When I was a little girl…"

"Oh," I say as she trails off into silence. Meredith doesn't talk about her childhood, or her past at all really. She had started to right before Addison and everything, but since we've gotten back together…not much at all. She likes to speak mainly in terms of the present, though she's willing enough to listen to whatever I have to say about my childhood. I know her past makes her sad. Her mother makes her sad. All of it…well, she likes to forget. Only now, she's bringing it up on her own, and I don't quite knowwhat to make of it. "Meredith," I say questioningly, raising up on my elbow so that I can see her face. She just smiles quietly, lifting a cold hand and pressing it against my cheek.

"I think I still love making them." Her gaze drifts away from me, and towards the stars sprinkled in patches across the sky. "Because of you," she adds, her voice turning into this shy little murmur.

Remember the whole speechless gaping fool thing that happened just a few minutes ago? Well, it's happening again. Meredith's lips are bright red from the cold, and she's licking them anxiously, her eyes shinning as they leave the stars to once again search my face. This is a world away from last Christmas, and so intensely perfect that I don't know how I could ever make do without her again. "I love you," I say as soon as I manage to finally make it past the gaping fool barrier, and that has her instantly glowing with this smile that is just…radiant. Angelic…even. It's Christmas Eve after all, and she's been making snow angels. I can describe my girlfriend as an angelic snow goddess (on Christmas Eve) and still keep my guy card, right?

Right…?

Okay, probably not…but seriously, summing it up as "Mer is hot" doesn't come close to doing her justice.

"I love you too," she whispers back almost fiercely, tugging me down to her lips. Her mouth is warm and soft against mine, but a second later she's pulling away, her tongue clicking against her teeth as she shifts to bring her mouth to my ear. "That's top secret," she intones, her voice turning into this low rolling sound.

"What is?" I ask, a puzzled frown spreading across my face. "That you love me?"

She shakes her head, biting down on her lip as she grins up at me. "That you turned me into one of them."

"One of them?"

Meredith's eyes widen, and she lowers her voice conspiratorially. "Those nasty, happy, Christmassy people."

"Oh," I say, nodding my head. "_Them_."

"If Cristina finds out, you're a dead man," continues Meredith. She's got this wicked smirk playing at the corners of her mouth, and she points a gloved fingertip at my chest. "She gave you strict orders not to ruin me. And you _failed_."

"Failed?" I echo, trying to sound dismayed, but I'm pretty sure I'm once again um…failing. Because well, I love Meredith, and I love Christmas. If I can find a way to combine the two, that's bound to be good.

"Failed," she agrees sternly, before her voice breaks back down into peals of laughter. She rolls into my arms again, and we stay like that, surrounded by snow angels under the stars, until our tree is finally brought out and strapped to the car.

Meredith falls asleep on the drive back into Seattle, missing the slow exchange of snow into rain. It happens gradually, but the crisp chill leaves the air to be replaced by a cold dampness. The windows of the car are streaked with raindrops that refract the Christmas lights as we drive past glowing houses, turning them into blurry white shapes with blinking halos. Meredith is still sleeping when we pull up in front of her house, her hand curled up next to her face, and I can't bring myself to wake her. Instead, I just bend down and once more scoop her up in my arms. She stirs slightly, murmuring something incoherent, before twining her arms around my neck as she nuzzles down to rest against my shoulder. I don't know how she doesn't wake up when we go inside though, because we are immediately greeted by the entire remainder of Bailey's interns.

"Oh no, McDreamy killed Meredith," announces Izzie casually, even as she's pulling on a sweater and pushing past me to go outside and see the tree.

Cristina glances up at Meredith's sleeping form. "What? Too much sex?"

"You can't sex kill a dirty mistress," scoffs Alex. He heads out towards the car too, followed by a rather reluctant George.

"She's not a dirty mistress…" I begin to no one in particular, only to find myself cut off by Cristina.

"Save it McDreamy. We've all heard stories." Her voice is sharp, but she looks amused. It's not until the sound of Izzie squealing delightedly over the tree reaches the house that her face contorts into a bitter scowl. "I need more alcohol," she mutters, snatching her empty glass off the table and heading towards the kitchen. She pauses in the doorway, and glances back at Meredith and I. "Just set her on the couch or something," she adds, her tone surprisingly kind.

And I do just that, placing Meredith on the couch beneath the front window. The entire pane of glass has been covered with these incredibly ornate paper snowflakes (that I can only assume are of Izzie's making), and somehow that helps make up for all the rain. Meredith sleeps through the whole noisy process of us bringing the tree into the house. As soon as it's in its stand, Izzie is all over that tree; bossing her boys around, and carting out endless strands of lights, and enough ornaments to decorate several large trees. I just sigh and shake my head, moving back towards my Meredith. Sometimes it's strange to spend so much time in a house just brimming over with these interns, but they're Meredith's family. And honestly? The alternative of being anywhere else? Somehow…it's just not that appealing.

I run a hand through Meredith's hair, and she stirs slightly, draping an arm over my shoulder. "Derek," she mumbles, yawning as she speaks. "Did you put a hole in my house?"

"No hole," I say quietly, lifting her back up into my arms. "Want to see the tree?"

She just smiles a happy sleepy smile. "Mhmm."

We head back towards the tree which is already glowing like something out of a Christmas card. I'm guessing Meredith is still tired, because all she wants to do is settle down in my lap, her head resting against my shoulder. Occasionally she moves to steal my drink, or to exchange sarcastic comments with Cristina as Izzie continues to add more and more to the tree. The branches look almost jewel encrusted--the boughs bending low with the weight of the ornaments.

"So," begins Izzie happily, once she's finally added the last of the decorations. "Should we sing Christmas carols?" She sits down between Alex and George in this sort of drunken holiday flurry, and it takes her a minute or two to realize that her suggestion was met with a generally horrified silence.

"No Tinkerbell," snaps Cristina. "We shouldn't."

Meredith is rolling her eyes, and catches my gaze in the process. "We need to escape," I whisper, leaning forward to speak into her ear. Her eyes instantly darken suggestively, the corners of her mouth playing up into this little smirk.

"Take me to bed, Derek," she murmurs back, her voice low and soft and intimate. I'm definitely not about to protest, only, the silence caused by Izzie's suggestion has filled the room, causing Meredith's voice to ring out clearly. The interns instantly break into catcalls before we've even got to our feet, and Meredith bites her lip, her cheeks blushing bright red.

"Meredith, please tell me you're not seriously leaving me down here with McHappy, McGoofy, and Mc…" Cristina trails off, frowning at Alex. "Ass," she concludes, after a moment's thought. "Just so you can go get laid."

My girlfriend tilts her head back to wink at me. "Sorry…there are no chainsaws here," she says with this mischievous grin, before snatching my hand in hers, and leading us up the stairs.

Cristina groans and turns to Alex. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asks, but he just shrugs his shoulders, and by then, we've already disappeared from sight anyway. (We can climb stairs fast when we want to.)

"Do you think they figured it out?" giggles Meredith, stumbling forward with me into her bedroom.

"Figured what out?"

She bites her lip, her voice muffled slightly by the action of pulling off her sweater. "That I like Christmas now." Her hair is in messy waves, and her eyes stand out as bright lights in the dim room as she yanks me towards her once again. I have to actually remind myself to answer and not just kiss her.

"No idea…should I go back down and check?" I try my best to sound serious, but fail pretty miserably, because honestly there's just no way that I'm going to walk out of a room that has Meredith already unbuttoning my shirt in it.

Meredith shakes her head, and once again she's laughing. It's this sound that is somehow far more beautiful than the tree or the snow. More beautiful than anything else really… "Yeah right," she smirks at me. "Nice try McDreamy." And as we finally fall back onto her bed, I know there's no other place I'd rather be on Christmas Eve.

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_And...the end. Short and fun and over quickly. So yeah, this was them when they're not being dysfunctional, when they're just happy to be together. And Derek comes home to Meredith's house, and it's filled with these people who are all much younger than him, who all technically work for him. And his girlfriend, his tie to these people, is sound asleep. But he just goes ahead and helps them bring the tree in because well...they're her family. And so, in a way, that makes them his too. So the interns were all there for that reason, and because I just really wanted to add some sarcastic Cristina to the mix. _

_Yep, that's about it. This one's finished, and in time for Christmas! I hope you guys all have a Merry Christmas! (Or you know, Happy Holidays/Generally Good Winter-time.) I'm excited. Not Izzie level excited, but you know...a little excited. Santa's coming, and all that. Hee. So, I won't have anything else up until after Christmas, but if any of you care, I shall be updating The World Turned Over the day after Christmas. Alrighty, that's all folks. Please review! _


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